


Tales of the Society: The Azure Age Chapter 1

by LadyofI



Series: Tales of the Society [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Prepare your butts for a LONG series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-18 01:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19966342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofI/pseuds/LadyofI
Summary: A tale of revenge on both sides of the Crimson Society, friends united under the same cause. Join the Crimson Council of four (eventually five) as they go through the process of nearly dying and reviving of the Crimson Society as they take on the Azure Initiative, a similarly united group of individuals scorned by the Council.





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> So, after uploading _A Loving Nightmare_ , I realized that my few readers probably wouldn't know who any of the characters are and why they should care. Thus, I asked Brian (one of the main writers and the original uploader on dA) if I could upload the original Tales of the Society (hereafter referred to as TotS) here. He agreed and here we are.
> 
> Oh and good gods, did I have a lot of trouble uploading this. It's 10 chapters (which I originally didn't want to upload as 10 parts), with 4-6 parts to each chapter. And then there's Chapter 5...

_The mood was festive in the headquarters of the Crimson Society. Every member of the group had gathered to celebrate their victory over their first true enemies: the Azure Initiative. The Crimson Councilmen had organized a massive party to commemorate the bonds formed between those they called allies, friends…and perhaps, even family._

_Everyone had gathered in the lounge, sitting about the fireplace as snow fell past the window. On one side of the pit, a black and white raccoon-dog leaned back in his chair with a satisfied yawn._

_“Hard to imagine that we’d come this far in a year, huh?” The man’s confident smirk reeked of cockiness, but the others knew that he could easily back up his words with his strength in battle. In fact, they all could - although the Society promoted peace and harmony, its members were more than capable in a fight._

_“I’ll say. The Initiative put up a_ crazy _fight; a lot of us nearly died more times than I care to count, but we all made it through.” The speaker was a small unicorn kneeling on a soft cushion, using his magic to lift a cup of coffee to his lips. His wild dark hair sharply contrasted his milky white eyes and light tan body, and a large handgun was holstered at his flank._

_One of the Councilmen spoke next, scanning the group before him with eight purple eyes. “Yeah…still seems like just yesterday when they defected…” A seemingly impossible combination of spider and rabbit, his extra limbs were folded behind him as he reached up and idly scratched the pencil wedged in his right ear._

_“Indeed.” The laconic reply came from a grey-furred bear standing beside the spider-rabbit, his face hidden behind bandages and a bone mask with bright red lenses. With an absolutely massive sword slung over the back of his dark longcoat, he cut an imposing figure even among his friends. “The Azure Initiative was as dangerous as it was vengeful...but we emerged victorious in the end.”_

_“Y’know, I was wondering…” The soft voice brought everyone’s attention to one of their newest members: an anthropomorphic grey wolf with red-streaked black hair and clothing that showed off his impressive physique. “Just how_ did _the Azure Initiative come into being?”_

_At that, all eyes turned to the four men who had seen the Azure conflict from its very beginnings. One of them - a well-dressed brown chinchilla with brilliant-colored hair - sighed grimly as he remembered those days._

_“Ugh…way to make us think it was_ our _fault for bringing those assholes together,” he groaned. “This is supposed to be a celebration of the Initiative’s_ destruction, _not a history lesson on how they nearly obliterated everything awesome in the world!”_

 _“Still, the others_ do _have a right to know,” the masked bear stated. “I suppose we could take some time to remember the mistakes of our past.”_

_Beside the chinchilla, a large, grey and red dragon cleared his throat as he rose from his chair. “Alright, boys and girls - gather ‘round the fire and let the Crimson Council tell you a story.” The fire pit added an orange tint to his black-and-red jumpsuit as he stepped forward and spread his magnificent wings theatrically, casting wild shadows on the wall behind him._

_The spider-bunny mirrored his friend’s smirk as he also got to his feet. “Strap yourselves in for a wild ride; this is the tale of our great Society’s first real crisis.” He raised his right hand, revealing a fang-filled mouth that continued his stage-setting-speech in a gruff, hissing voice._

_“_ Or, as we call it in honor of fallen foes… **the Azure Age.** _”_

_As the other members of the Society waited expectantly, the Councilmen looked at the ceiling, the rising memories as clear as day…_

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#  **Tales of the Society - The Azure Age**

## Chapter 1.1: The Fall

 _Twelve months ago, a humble fortress stood near the cliffs at the edge of Iridu City. This fortress was home to a group of friends with the usual habits: playing video games, sparring and training with one another, conversing about fandoms, and other mundane interactions. However, every group has its conflicts, and this group had seen more than its fair share…_

“It’s pretty quiet around here…for _once,_ ” the chinchilla mused to himself, gazing out the window at the city in the distance. The peace and quiet was quickly interrupted by a loud, wailing guitar, the shock of the sound so sudden that his hair quickly flashed from its usual green to an alarmed red as he fell out of his seat, his fur standing on end.

“...And _that’s_ why I don’t say these things out loud.”

The chinchilla stood up, dusting off his blue pinstripe suit, as his ears adjusted themselves to the noise. Once he pinpointed the source of the noise, he covered his ears and headed to the courtyard, finding a brown-scaled lizard-man shredding on a wicked-looking guitar. His torso was adorned only in black tattoos, the red frill around his neck was spread wide, and his forked tongue lashed the air in an inaudible screech as his digits worked every fret with frightening precision and ferocious intensity.

“EY, MARCELL! TURN THAT SHIT _DOWN!_ HOW MANY TIMES DO I GOTTA _TELL_ YOU THIS!?” The chinchilla cupped his hands over his ears as he struggled to make himself heard over the frilled lizard’s wailing guitar. Against all logic, Marcell heard the angry yell, pausing his session just long enough to give his response.

“FUCK YOOOU, ELIIIIII!!!!” Despite the brief return of relative silence, Marcell screamed at the top of his lungs. “NOTHING STOPS MY **ROOOOOCK!!!** ” He punctuated this boast with another ear-shattering solo, much to Eli’s chagrin. A moment later, the spider-bunny stalked out onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard, looking like he was suffering a mild migraine.

“Uuuggghh….” The hybrid rubbed his temples, ears curled up in a vain attempt to block out the racket. “What the hell is going on _now…_?”

“EEEEEYY BRIAN!!!” Marcell shouted. “YOU’RE JUST IN TIME TO SEE ME ROCK THE SOUL OUT OF CHINNY-CHIN-CHIN!” He punctuated this with a particularly fierce strum, making the tiles around him quiver from the force.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT, YA SHIRTLESS FREAK!” Eli’s scream was barely audible over the renewed cacophony as Marcell prepared to intensify his solo. Just as Brian and Eli found themselves wondering if the next strum would _literally_ bring the house down, the volume of Marcell’s music suddenly dropped to nearly nothing.

“HEY! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY ROCK?!” Eli saw the answer before Marcell: the dragon-man, standing behind the lizard’s amplifiers with a plug dangling from his hand. Following the chinchilla’s gaze, Marcell whirled around, looking ready to explode with fury.

“ **SSSSCAAAAAAAAAAAFFFEEE!!!!** ” he bellowed. “DIDN’T YOUR MAMMA EVER TEACH YOU _NOT_ TO MESS WITH A MAN’S ROOOOOCK?!?!”

“Sorry, Marcell, but you are being _way_ too freaking loud…” Scafe rubbed the side of his head with his free hand as he dropped the plug on the ground. “Not to mention that _some_ of us have sensitive ears!”

Marcell glowered at the dragon-man for a moment longer before growling in defeat. “Y’ALL JUST CAN’T APPRECIATE SOME GOOD ROCK MUSIC!!!” With that final shriek, he slung his guitar over his back and stalked out of the courtyard. Once he was gone, everyone slouched over, equally pissed off by their cacophonous comrade.

“Christ…” The word escaped Eli’s mouth like a breath as he came down to the courtyard. “Scafe, why did we even let that walking sonic boom into the Society?” He stared up at the sky as he processed his own question. “In fact...why did we let _any_ of those freaks in? 1:30, Purgatory, Quantum, Amethyst… **Weiss**...” 

The last name brought a growl from everyone’s lips as Brian dropped down from the balcony to join the other two Councilmen. “Don’t you fucking bring up that accursed name…I think I’d rather listen to Marcell’s “music” than Weiss’s ranting.”

Scafe frowned as he sat down. “Lemme guess; he made _another_ pitch to become a Councilman?”

“Oh ho ho ho...I _wish_ it was that simple.” Brian leaned back to recline on the four arachnoid limbs protruding from his back. “Today, he came up to me to whine about us banning his brother for the shit he stirred up with Max. Never mind how he was a stuck-up prick whose ego was almost as bloated as Weiss’s own…”

“Not to mention the fact that he’s a bonafide _Neo-Nazi_ with a freaking ARMY!” Eli added as he took a seat beside Brian. “Seriously, Nesmon - oh sorry, _N.E.D._ \- was only using us as a front for his operations…and I think he had an eye on that open seat on the Council ever since Tsuneo left…”

“Ugh…I think we made a lot of mistakes with these locals…” Scafe groaned and fell on his back to stare up at the sky. “We shouldn’t have been so gung-ho about adding these random-ass punks to our roster just to fill out space…I mean, everyone we recruit seems to find new lows to sink to!”

“First was that evil brute, 1:30,” Eli thought out loud, recounting the bans from the beginning. “Epic mood swings and general creepiness aside, he had no self-control and beat the shit out of other members for no reason… Then Sylvie Prower kept starting shit, both in and out of the Society - I mean, I see that she loves _My Little Pony_ like a second mother, but **Jesus Christ** …you’d think she worshipped them or something the way she went on and on about them!”

“Saturn went after that because she wouldn’t stop sexually harassing Tsuneo…” Brian continued, shaking his head as the bad memories resurfaced. “Purgatory helped us out back then…but then Tsuneo exposed her duplicitous tendencies and we had her axed too… Amethyst wasn’t _too_ bad in comparison, but she wanted to spend all day sucking dicks and pissing off our girls instead of socializing, having fun, or helping improve the Society…”

“ _More’s the pity,_ ” sighed Zeus. “ _Why must the best tits always be stuck to the_ weird _ones?!_ ”

Brian only rolled his eyes as Scafe continued rattling off the banned members. “Quantum was a cheating bastard, Tsuneo was a raging asshole, and N.E.D.’s superiority complex rubbed everyone wrong…which leaves us, Max, Marcell, and Weiss. Eeyup, I think that about covers it.” 

“Yeah, except for _one_ little detail.” Brian crossed his arms as Scafe finished. “Tsuneo _chose_ to quit before things got any worse! He knew as well as we did that this was _not_ going to end well if he kept on what he was doing.” 

Scafe and Eli frowned back at Brian’s defence of the ex-Councilman, but before they could retort, Max came into the courtyard. Despite wearing his usual bone mask over a layer of face-obscuring bandages, the bear radiated concern, prompting the others to get to their feet.

“Yo, Max. Is…everything alright?” Scafe asked.

“Guys…” Max began, rubbing the back of his head. “You, uh… _may_ want to come take a look at this.”

“Oooh great...what did Marcell do _this_ time?” Brian asked, an annoyed groan escaping him as he wondered what new problem was about to surface.

“Uuhh...it’s not Marcell…” Max replied. “It’s Weiss…”

“Ooh…even _better,_ ” Eli growled sarcastically. “What is that lightning-slinging egotist up to now?”

Max only shook his head in exasperation as he led the other Councilmen to the backyard, which had been _literally_ torn up by the man building something in the center. At a glance, he seemed to be a normal human, with a bald pate, a muscular frame, and an all-black getup including pants, an open jacket, shades, and sneakers. However, the pale grey tone to his skin and the intense sparks of electricity dancing from his fingertips made it clear that he was anything but normal.

“WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!!” Brian shouted. “WEISS! WHAT THE **FUCK** IS THIS?!”

The irate spider-bunny’s yell drew Weiss’s attention. He dashed over to them in a flash of blue-tinted electricity, arms folded over his chest. “What does it _look_ like I’m doing?” he scoffed. “I’m making a monument to our fine Society - now everyone will know exactly why we’re not to be fucked with!”

The Councilmen looked past Weiss to see that he was indeed making a sculpture of rock and metal, shaped and held together with judicious use of his lightning. However, it appeared to be less a statue of the Society and more of a monument to Weiss himself, standing regally over small caricatures of the Crimson Council and the recently-banned members.

For a long moment, silence reigned in the yard. Weiss smirked in his usual arrogant fashion as he said, “I know, I know, it’s brilliant. Take your time - let the glory sink in before you praise my work.”

“.....Weiss…” Brian began, fighting a losing battle to keep his voice level. “When we formed the Society…we said this was a group where EVERYONE is an important and integral member. _This?_ This here shows that you do NOT value that saying…”

“Whaaat? No no no, you’ve got it all wrong.” Weiss said. “I _do_ believe in that…it’s just that…weellllll…” He actually looked sheepish for a moment as he turned away from the group to regard his creation.

“Well… _what_ , exactly?” Scafe raised an eyebrow as he prodded Weiss to finish his statement.

“Okay, look…I’m gonna be honest with you all.” Weiss took a deep breath before looking at the Council over his shoulder. “The Society’s in a rough place right now; we’re losing members left and right to their own fuckups, and bad blood’s painting the joint all the _wrong_ kinds of red! Far as I see it, the only reason we’re not falling apart completely…is because _I’m_ here.” Like a lightning bolt tearing through an oncoming storm cloud, his contrite demeanour snapped back to his familiar arrogance. “Face it, guys; _I_ carry this group, and the _only_ reason I’m not with you on the Council is because you sad fucks are too damn _afraid_ of being outshone by the best!”

The Councilmen stared at Weiss for upwards of ten seconds, speechless with astonishment as they digested his “humble” confession. Finally, Brian broke the silence by taking a deep breath.

“…Weiss, that was _truly_ inspirational.” His calm praise was a sharp contrast to his clenched fists. “I really have to thank you…for making this next vote _damn easy_. Are we all in agreement?”

“Eeyup,” droned Scafe. “Without a _fucking_ doubt.”

“No arguments here,” said Max.

“We should’ve done this sooner,” Eli added. “It’s high time we gave you what you had coming all along, Weiss~”

“We-e-ell, it’s _about fucking time!_ I’m glad you all see what must be done~” Weiss kept his smug smile as the Councilmen nodded in unison.

“Yeees. I’m glad you agree as well, Weiss.” Brian smiled as he put an arm around Weiss’s shoulder. “Which is why I take _great_ joy in being the first to say…

“GET. THE FUCK. **OUT!** ”

Weiss had just enough time to say “Wait, wha-” before Brian delivered a swift chop to his neck, knocking him out cold. By the time he woke up, the Councilmen had picked him up, carried him to the front gate, and thrown him unceremoniously down the hill.

“HEY!! WHAT’S THE BIG FUCKING IDEA?!” Even from the bottom of the hill, Weiss’s furious shout was perfectly audible to the Councilmen. “YOU’RE KICKING _ME_ OUT?! _ME?!_ ”

“Weiss, from day one you’ve been nothing but a _fucking abomination_ of a Society member!” Brian shouted back. “You lie, cheat, and steal your way to the top, you’re almost as sore a loser as 1:30, you think violence and intimidation are the answer to everything, and you’re _constantly_ trying to put all of us under your smug heel!”

“Not to mention how you never stop trying to get in our girlfriends’ pants!!” Eli added.

Weiss smirked as he got to his feet and started dusting himself off. “Hey, not _my_ fault they want to feel the thunder AND the lightning!” he sneered.

“That’s the thing, you idiot - they DON’T!” Scafe roared, almost literally breathing fire in his anger.

“And you _smell!_ ” Max added as a final complaint. “Seriously - do you _ever_ bathe?!”

“YEAH!! WHAT THEY SAID!!” Marcell yelled. “GET OFF THE STAGE, WEIIISS!!” He played a riff on his guitar for emphasis, oblivious to the Councilmen’s glares until Eli kicked his legs out from under him, sending him bouncing halfway down the slope.

“Hey Marcell! Guess what? YOU’RE FIRED TOO!” the chinchilla bellowed.

“ _This isn’t a job, you know…_ ” Zeus pointed out. “ _But you pretty much hit the nail on the head otherwise._ ”

“And take your stupid banjo with you!!” Scafe shouted as he tossed the offending instrument beside Marcell, breaking off the head as it bounced down the rocks.

“MY FUCKING AXE!!! YOU **BASTARDS!!!** ” Marcell paused for a moment before continuing in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. “And for the _last fucking time_ , you sorry excuse for a dragon, do **not** call my beloved guitar a banjo. Alright? Is that clear with you, ass hair?”

“Whatever.” Scafe whipped the rock beneath Marcell with a chain that appeared in his hand, causing the loud lizard to resume his tumbling. “Just don’t let us catch sight of you again…and that goes DOUBLE for you, Weiss! You’ve without a doubt earned the award for the biggest asshole we’ve _ever_ had the displeasure to know!”

Weiss deftly stepped aside as Marcell and his guitar tumbled past him, keeping his glare levelled on the Councilmen high above. “This is it, boys - you done FUCKED up now. I tried to be nice and cooperative, but now I’m gonna fight fire with fire!” He began charging up the hill to get in the Society’s face one last time. “I’ll make my _own_ society of champs, and you guys will feel the full wrath of my scorn. You done FUCKED with the best, now you die like the-”

Weiss didn’t get a chance to finish his rant - as he reached the outskirts of the HQ, Brian slammed the gate in his face. The decorative knocker smashed him right on the forehead, sending Weiss tumbling back down the hill with blood trickling from his new wound. 

“AAAGGGHH!!! FUCKING KNOCKERS!!!” he bellowed as he came to a stop on the ground. Surprisingly, Marcell helped Weiss to his feet, his volume still quelled after his guitar was busted.

“Weiss, bro…lemme let you in on somethin’... All those banned members? I know where they went…and since I need Amethyst to fix my guitar anyway, I can take you to ‘em.” 

A sinister smile formed on Weiss’s lips as he put a hand to his bleeding forehead - he could already tell that it was going to leave a nasty scar. “Marcell, my man, I think that’s the first sane thing I’ve _ever_ heard from you. There might just be hope yet…lead the way~”

As the two ex-Society members ran off to meet up with old friends, the remaining Councilmen turned in for the night. The mood was dour as they reviewed their recent string of misfortunes.

“Heugh…what a bust,” Scafe sighed. “We’re now down to four members - a Council with no one to oversee. What a terrible fate for the Crimson Society…”

“Yeah…” Brian said, ears drooping in sadness. “Things just haven’t been the same since Tsuneo left…”

“ _I agree with you there, Brian…_ ” Zeus replied. “ _But you know...he left because of-_ ”

“Zeus! I would appreciate it if you do NOT bring that up.” Scafe growled, bitter memories resurfacing as clear as day.

“You’re the only ones, I think…” Max replied solemnly; Eli and Scafe looked disgusted the moment the name of their once-fellow Councilman came up. Brian sighed defeatedly and slumped on the couch in the main living room.

“Ugh…this whole thing is just turning into a right clusterfuck, isn’t it? I don’t know if we can recover from this…”

“Hey, don’t give up so easily,” Eli admonished. “Maybe this is our chance to start from scratch, y’know - fix our mistakes. Like, instead of using sign-ups, we bring in members after personal invitations and face-to-face interviews.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Max said. “I believe that future applicants should have a probationary period where we can observe their interactions with the Society. After that, we can have the other members vote on whether or not to keep them around - if there’s a majority vote, they must be doing _something_ right.”

“Sounds good.” Scafe nodded at Max’s suggestion. “And just to be _extra_ careful, we should make sure that each applicant has a Councilman sign off on them ‘til they’re otherwise trusted, Don’t want another Purgatory weaseling through the ranks to wrongly accuse people of shit they aren’t doing…”

“Heh…then I think we might just see a new beginning for the Crimson Society.” Brian smiled slightly as he felt a hint of the old energy and camaraderie returning to the air. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll send out invitations…and clean up the place to welcome the new blood.”

**-THE SOCIETY WILL RETURN-**


	2. Regroup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan.

****

# Tales of the Society - The Azure Age

****

## Chapter 1.2: Regroup

****

_**Last time on** _ **Tales of the Society _…_** __

_Not so long ago, the Crimson Society was a far cry from the close-knit group of friends we know and love; in fact, it was essentially the opposite. Many of its members were at each other’s throats on a daily basis, with the worst offenders being scratched from the roster one after the other. Even Tsuneo, a member of the Crimson Council itself, left the group he helped found after a messy dispute that’s left a serious rift between his fellow leaders; a rift that the ever-ambitious Weiss Locke wants to exploit for his own selfish gain!_

_Realizing that a drastic change was needed, the remaining Crimson Councilmen have returned to square one, intent on rebuilding the Society from the ground up. After casting away the remaining chaff in their group - the arrogant Weiss and the impossibly-loud Marcell - they overhauled their recruitment system to focus on building and strengthening bonds between them and the future members they would invite to the group. There’s a lot to do before they can make their dreams a reality, but Brian, Scafe, Max, and Eli are confident that they’ll get it right the second time around._

_Alas, fate seems to have other plans for them. Enraged by his expulsion, Weiss has vowed terrible vengeance upon the Councilmen, and Marcell (sans his guitar and his usual volume) may know a means to do so. What’s this about the previous members gathering elsewhere…and can they give Weiss the boost he needs to live up to his dark promises?_

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After roughly a week of renovation and sending off invitations, the Crimson Council held another meeting. “So guys, what’s our situation look like?” Brian looked between his three friends, hoping for good news.

“Well…the _good_ news is that the place is practically spotless now,” Scafe reported. “We managed to fix up everything that the ex-members fucked up; even picked up a few of their leftover projects and put ‘em to better use.”

“The _bad_ news is that we haven’t had a single callback yet,” Eli continued, sounding a little disheartened.

“ _Well. So much for that, then…_ ” Zeus sighed. “ _Guess the Crimson Council will be the heads of_ nothing _for a while._ ”

“Ah, don’t worry guys; the mail _never_ runs on time around here!” Although Brian sounded less-than-convinced by his own reasoning, he fought to maintain a confident smile. ”For now, all we can do is keep sending off invitations to try and find someone who wants to join-” His words were lost in the distant screech of a megaphone.

“Attention, Crimson Shitbags! This is your _better_ speaking - get the fuck out here where I can _see_ your smug-ass faces!”

Groans rose from the table as the Councilmen recognized the voice. “ _Weiss…_ ” they grunted in unison, before walking out to the front gate to see just what the fuss was about.

Outside, they found a small assembly of the various Society members they had banned; 1:30, the brutish demon; Sylvie Prower, the diminutive _My Little Pony_ fangirl; Saturn, the walking wasp hive; Tania “Purgatory” Valentine, the armored “angel in human form”; Amethyst Hart, the scantily-clad goat with mechanical arms; Quantum, the cyborg Zoroark hacker; and Nesmon “N.E.D.” Locke, the four-armed Neo-Nazi. At the front of the group stood Marcell and Weiss, the latter using the former’s microphone and amplifiers to make his message clear from the base of the hill.

“What the fuck?!” Brian responded in confusion. “Not just Weiss… _all_ the members we banned are at our doorstep!”

“Well… _almost_ all of them,” Max clarified. “There’s no sign of Tsuneo down there…”

“Thank fuck for small blessings,” Eli muttered under his breath. “I’d be moderately worried if the undead shitbag was willing to join forces with the likes of Sylvie or Saturn…”

Down below, Weiss continued to yell into his amplifiers. “We’ll give you _one_ chance: stand down and surrender your base, or be _destroyed_ with it! This is the ultimatum of the **Azure Initiative!** ” On cue, Purgatory and Saturn raised flagpoles with a dark blue banner between them, showing the insignia of their new faction.

“…Really?” Scafe chuckled. “You’re calling yourselves the _Azure Initiative!?_ Hah, talk about being petty! Well, your little threats won’t scare us here.”

Weiss only shrugged as he lowered his megaphone. “…Welp, can’t say I didn’t warn ‘em.” He turned to his new allies, his shaded gaze singling out one particular member. “Amy… _let ‘em have it!_ ”

“Hehehehe…with _intense_ pleasure, Weissy~” Amethyst’s expression went from flirty to wicked as she pulled a rocket launcher from somewhere on her person that no one could precisely identify.

“Holy shit - Goat-tits has a rocket launcher!! Everyone, HIT THE DECK!!!” Eli yelled to the others as two quick flashes were seen at the base of the hill.

With a synchronized yell of “CRAPBASKETS!” the Councilmen scattered, diving to the ground as two rockets flew at their base. The first rocket blew the gates wide open, and the second nearly hit the Councilmen in their meeting room, shaking the building with its impact. Weiss grinned evilly as he signalled his other companions.

“Alright guys...Let’s show them just what it means to fuck with the Azure Initiative. 1:30, bring that shit in here!”

“YEEESSSS!” roared the hulking demon. “I SHALL BRING **ENDLESS AGONY** UPON THESE FOOLS ON THEIR WAY TO-”

“Less talky, more lifty, you big creep!” snapped Sylvie. 1:30 scowled at the shortest member of the Initiative - currently perched on his bald pate like a duck head on a panda ballerina - but a glance from Purgatory made him obediently drag a very large object up the hill. In the now-ruined meeting room, Scafe rose in time to identify the object, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it being pushed through the destroyed gates.

“Is that…a fucking **BOMB!?** ” The dragon’s near-shriek drew the attention of the other Society members.

“Say WHAT?!” yelped Eli. “They’re trying to wreck our digs!”

“Oh, we’re not just gonna ‘wreck your digs’, furball! Weiss laughed maliciously as he followed 1:30 into the courtyard.” We’re gonna make _damn_ sure you won’t be building anything here _ever again_. Amy here had the bright idea to build a nuclear warhead and fill it with a shit-ton of cobalt. We call this…a **Cobalt Bomb!** ”

“YEEEAAAAAH!!!” screamed Marcell, making air-guitar motions with his fingers. “LAMEST NAME EVEEEEEERRRR!!!!”

“Crap!” snarled Brian. “We gotta stop them!” He was already on his feet and reaching for the pencil in his ear when Zeus piped up in his head.

“ _Look out, Brian! We got company!_ ”

“The hell are you - OW!” Brian yelped as several large wasps stung his hand, making him drop his pencil on the floor. Down below, Saturn would have grinned if she had lips as she sent another swarm of wasps at the other members of the Society.

“Goddammit, it’s no use! We’re outnumbered and outgunned!” Eli cursed even as he used his staff to fend off the wasps entering the room, giving Scafe time to shut the windows. “Even if we _do_ beat ‘em, we won’t have time to stop that bomb from going off!”

The group uttered a collective “Fuck!” as the realization hit them all. Outside, 1:30 had set the Cobalt Bomb in the outer courtyard, and Amethyst had just finished activating its countdown.

“It’s all set, Weiss!” she said. “In two minutes, this whole cliff’s gonna be deader than Marcell’s classical music career~”

“ **FUCK YOU,** GOAT-BITCH!!! NOTHING’S MORE CLASSIC THAN MEETAAAAALLL!!” Marcell’s howled retort quickly became a cry of pain and irritation as Quantum stoically smacked him in the head with his mechanical arm. Despite cringing at the frilled lizard’s usual volume, Weiss allowed himself a triumphant smirk.

“Good work, Amethyst~ Now, for the finishing touch…” He raised the megaphone to his mouth even as he and his allies began backing out of the courtyard. “So, you thought you could ban the best thing that could ever happen to the Crimson Society, eh? Well…consider THIS our official resignation!”

“As much as I agree vith zhat sentiment,” said N.E.D, “I zhink zhat ve should vithdraw to a safe distance before vatching zhe varhead go off…unless you zhink ve can survive ground zero of a nuclear explosion, Veiss?”

“I was _getting_ to that, bro.” Weiss replied with just a hint of irritation. “Azure Initiative, fall back! Our mission is complete…for now. Let’s watch the fruits of our labors…and the _end_ of the Crimson Society!”

With that, the villains ran hell for leather down the hill, retreating to a swastika-marked helicopter to watch the fireworks. Meanwhile, inside the HQ, the Councilmen considered their options for escape as they listened to the beeping of the bomb outside their base.

“Fucking dick balls…well, we only have one option now.” Brian wiped the sweat off his brow as the true madness of his last resort sank in. “The cliffside tunnel. We gotta dive for it.” 

This plan brought looks of shock and horror to the faces of the other Councilmen…as well as the mouth on Brian’s hand. “ _Are you fucking CRAZY!?_ ” shouted Zeus.

“…It’s either that or we ride the bomb. No way we’re outrunning that thing, and only Scafe can fly.” Eli thought aloud as he motioned to the back window. “I dunno about you, but I think the water’s our best bet.”

“Heugh…I _hate_ the water…but we got no choice.” Scafe sighed defeatedly, jogging over to join his friends at the window. “Let’s go for it…”

With a collective sigh, the Councilmen dove through the window one by one, taking the plunge into the water several hundred feet below. Brian was the last to go, and not a moment too soon; he’d barely landed in the water when the bomb finally went off. As the HQ vanished in a burst of fire and debris, Brian swam along the cliff face until he found a hole under the water; from there, he surfaced in a small cavern with his bedraggled, panting comrades.

“Hoo boy…… _that_ was a bit closer than I would’ve liked,” he gasped.

“I’m gonna feel that one tomorrow...” Scafe groaned. His wings and shoulders were sore from the impact on the water, but he and the others were otherwise okay as they dragged themselves to solid ground.

“It would seem that we should have taken Weiss and Co. a bit more seriously,” Max said grimly. “They’ve joined forces to destroy us and everything we hold dear…and between N.E.D.’s presence among them and the loss of our HQ, they likely have a lot more resources than us.”

“Not to mention a crapload of _batshit crazy!_ ” cried Eli. “ _Look_ at that shit!”

The group looked behind them as the water began glowing an unhealthy shade of neon blue - the radioactive fallout from the cobalt bomb was settling outside. The Councilmen promptly backed off, their mental geiger counters going nuts.

“I’m pretty sure Weiss made his point; _nobody’s_ gonna be building here anytime soon. He’s gonna pay for this…” Scafe shook his head at the grim development before looking further down the cavern. There seemed to be a single long tunnel leading into the blackness, with no end in sight. ”So…where’s this lead?” he wondered aloud.

“I…honestly don’t know,” Brian admitted, staring into the abyssal tunnel before them. “ …It seems to lead to a different place every time…and different places after that. All I know is that when you go up, you’ll end up somewhere new…”

“That sounds like just what we need right now,” Max said. “We certainly can’t go topside here - not with all that radiation - and we might be able to rebuild under the Initiative’s radar when we emerge.”

“Well,” Eli began, “it’s not like we have any other choice, then. Guess we gotta hope for the best.”

“Agreed.” Brian nodded to his comrades as he started down the tunnel. “We don’t have a choice; let’s get moving.” 

“ _I’m probably the only one who’s thinking this, but…_ ” Zeus shuddered slightly. “ _…I’ve got a_ bad _feeling about this..._ ”

“C’mon, Zeus!” Brian chided, drawing himself a flashlight without breaking his stride. “This is just another big adventure - what’s the worst that could happen?”

A purple eye briefly appeared on the hybrid’s arm, expressing his Parasite’s utter horror. “ _Brian, you fool! You just-_ ”

Brian realized what Zeus was getting at when his next step ended up landing _much_ lower than he’d expected. He had barely cried out in shock before he found himself falling down a smaller tunnel, belatedly remembering the cardinal rule of the “Accursed Sentence”.

“ _Never, EVER tempt fate. It only brings pain, tears, and stale soda._ ”

**-THE SOCIETY WILL RETURN-**


	3. The First Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crimson Four make the jump to discover just what is the Nexus.

****

# Tales of the Society - The Azure Age

****

## Chapter 1.3: The First Jump

****

**_Last time on_ Tales of the Society…**

_Still in the early phases of rebuilding their group, the Crimson Councilmen were suddenly introduced to the results of their prior culls: the **Azure Initiative** , a new faction comprised of the many expulsions from the Society. Led by a vengefully smug Weiss, the Initiative’s strike was as swift as it was devastating; a concise assault on their undefended base left the Council off-balance long enough for the villains to arm a Cobalt Bomb with enough destructive force and potent radiation to utterly level the Society’s headquarters (and much of the surrounding city)._

_With their home destroyed and a deadly new enemy to worry about, Brian, Eli, Max, and Scafe find themselves stuck in the little-used escape tunnel beneath their freshly-ruined headquarters. Now, their only option for any sort of future is a walk into the darkness, to wherever this tunnel may lead…and it looks like Brian’s found a_ literal _pitfall to start things off!_

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“WHOAAAAA!!!”

That was all that Brian managed to say before he flew right off the sheer drop deeper into the tunnel, much to the alarm of the other Councilmen.

“Shit! Brian! We gotta follow him…not that there’s any other option.” Scafe glanced ahead of the hole; Brian’s dropped flashlight illuminated a solid wall of rock mere feet past the tunnel entrance. “Hope Brian’s okay down there.”

“…Welp. No time like the present - we’re goin’ on a ride!” With a smirk, Eli pushed the other two aside and slid down the steep tunnel after Brian. Max and Scafe exchanged a shrug before following suit, dropping out of the other end to find themselves somewhere… _strange_ , to say the least.

“What the fuck? Are there… _trees_ down here?” Max wondered aloud, staring at the forest he and his friends had landed in. They were surrounded by a great many trees of a species unseen on the surface of the planet; however, they looked strikingly familiar to Brian as he dropped down from the one he’d landed in.

“You’ve gotta be fucking _kidding_ …” The spider-bunny cried out in disbelief as he examined the object he had plucked from the tree on the way down: an orange fruit with a distinct expression of laughter. “…Chucklehuck Woods?!”

“What-le- _what_ Woods?” Scafe cocked his head in confusion, unsure of what the Sergeant was getting at. “Yo, is this some place from the Brianverse?”

“Dude, I fucking _wish,_ ” Brian replied. “This place actually came out of one of my favorite series of games; the real question is…what the fuck is this place _doing_ down here?” He could only gawk at the familiar scenery while the others glanced around, trying to get their bearings on where they actually were.

“…I don’t like these trees, guys. They’re all… _smiling_ at us.” Eli shivered as he looked around at the trees; the piercing stares of their fruit could make anyone nervous. He was so preoccupied that he was unaware of something rolling up behind him at high speed - fortunately, Scafe noticed in time to swat it away with a low-swinging chain.

A sharp “Look out!” was all the warning the dragon could give as several more spiked balls spilled out of the trees around them. Brian’s surprise only grew as he and his friends prepared to fight back.

“Holy fuck!” he said incredulously. “It’s a swarm of Pestnuts - we actually _are_ in the bona-fide Chucklehuck Woods!”

“ _Pestnuts?_ You’re bloody serious?” Max groaned in exasperation as he drew his own blade. “We just got out of a bad situation and ended up in another one!”

“Hey, at least we can kick _these_ guys’ asses with ease,” Eli said. Now that he was aware of the threat, he had little trouble knocking the Pestnuts away with his staff. 

“It also means that we’re in a place I actually know,” Brian added. “And that means I know the way out of here - _and_ how best to deal with these things!” He chuckled as he got to work drawing a giant hammer. “Everybody, JUMP!”

On his signal, the other men leapt into the air as Brian smashed the ground with his new weapon. The resultant shockwave sent Pestnuts flying left and right - many exploded on impact with the ground, while the others were simply sent far away. Brian grinned as he dispelled his hammer and dusted off his hands.

“Alright…now, if I remember right…North’s this way, which means that we should be heading…this way.” The spider-bunny pointed to the west, where the top of a distant tower could just barely be seen among the leaves of the trees. “There _should_ be the gate to a bigass stadium over there, but that tower tells me that won’t be the case this time… Either way, let’s get walking.”

With utmost confidence, Brian led his friends through the woods towards the tower. They were frequently beset by Pestnuts, but it was nothing a long stick, chain whip or blade strike wouldn’t fix; despite the constant interruptions, it wasn’t long before they reached the tower.

“Well, I don’t recognize this place, exactly, but it looks harmless enough. C’mon - we’re going up.” Brian moved more cautiously as the Councilmen ascended the unfamiliar tower, but the journey was uneventful…right until Eli glanced out a window about halfway up.

“Uhm…g-guys?” The chinchilla struggled to say even that as his gaze became glued to what he saw outside. The others soon saw what the fuss was about; this high above the ground, they could see the sky…or rather, the purple-tinted void replacing the sky. Countless isolated landmasses floated in the ether; none of the Society members could count them at a glance, but they could see that the chunks were moving in tandem, like a massive diagram of an atom’s electrons in super-slow motion.

“…Hooooooly _shit_ …” was about all Scafe and Brian could manage for a response; Eli had fallen silent, and Max was rendered speechless from the get-go.

“N…now I get it,” Brian choked out the words after several seconds of stunned silence. “I always thought that this place was just a weird-ass galaxy where all the planets are really fucking close together…but now I can see it. The worlds we came from…they’re just _pieces_ of worlds, surrounded by so many others! They all move at the same time…and in paths I can’t even think of following…that’s why the cave always led to somewhere new! This planet is an underground mashup of worlds!”

“ _Wait a minute!_ ” Zeus interjected. “ _So, if I’m seeing this right, the planets we’ve lived on for all our are actually just…chunks of a world in a whole grab-bag of other chunks, floating in a fancy-ass cosmic ballet?! What, is this some kinda…freaky sci-fi_ Nexus _or something?_ ”

“Well, it’d explain why Weiss referred to this world as such,” Max said to himself. “…Though he made no mention of _this_ many chunks below the surface. Either he was hiding this…or we’re much deeper than we’ve ever gone before.”

“ _…Why does that sound so fucking contrived?_ ” Zeus growled in annoyance before Brian recentered their efforts. 

“Guys, focus,” he said. “We can gawk at the world chunks later; does anyone see a way off of _this_ one?” 

“I don’t think we can reach those fragments from here,” Max replied. “We should keep climbing the tower - maybe we’ll get a better idea of where to go from up there.”

The others nodded as they resumed their ascent, soon emerging at the very top of the tower. From here, they could see the entire forest below, and countless more chunks for miles. Above them, Scafe noticed a “ceiling” of rocky crags, including an opening fairly close to the tower.

“Hey guys, I see a cavern dipping low there!” he yelled. “Think that’ll lead up to the surface?” He glanced back at the others, seeing that Brian had already started drawing something.

“Seems like a plan,” the spider-bunny replied. “Thankfully, I’ve got this pencil to make Grapple Guns…” As he spoke, he handed small grappling-hook pistols to Max and Eli before drawing another one for himself.

“Gimme a sec,” Scafe said. “I’ll check it out first.” He quickly flew up to the opening, sword in hand as he peered into the tunnel beyond. The floor quickly levelled out, and the opening appeared deserted, so Scafe swooped back down and gave his friends a thumbs-up.

“There’s our cue, boys!” said Eli. “Let ‘em rip!”

Max and Brian nodded as they joined Eli in firing their grapple guns at the opening. Once their hooks had found solid purchase in the rock, they flicked a switch on their pistols, quickly reeling themselves up to the new tunnel. Scafe hung back until he was sure that the others had safely made the jump before flying back in after them.

“Alright,” the dragon said, “where do we go from here?”

Everyone looked around and saw that they were in a similar tunnel to the one they had been in earlier. However, this appeared to be something of a crossroads - apart from the hole they had come through, there were openings leading in three different directions.

Eli frowned as he regarded the tunnels. “Looks like we have options here…but the center path looks like it leads up. We should focus on getting outta here first.”

“I agree,” Brian said. “Just keep your eyes peeled, boys - if what we saw outside the tower was any indication, there’s no telling where this path will go. And I doubt anyone else wants to take another long fall.”

The others nodded in agreement before following Brian up the central path. After a few minutes of walking, they found themselves in another thick forest - however, this one was cooler and more coniferous than the Chucklehuck Woods. The tunnel they were in emerged from the foot of a large mountain - judging by the fresh scent of the air, serene silence of the wind, and generally clear skies, civilization was far away.

“Wow…I don’t even know where we _are_ out here anymore.” Max glanced around outside the cave as Scafe took to the skies to look around. Sure enough, all he could see was forest in three directions and the mountain in the fourth. 

“It’s official: we’re _completely_ off the radar,” he reported when he came back down. “Not a damn thing out there for miles.”

“That’s a good thing, then; it means the Initiative won’t be finding us any day soon.” Eli nodded assuringly, though he looked a bit apprehensive about the thought of being in the middle of nowhere. “...But a city boy like me wouldn’t last long out here; we need to get to work making some kind of shelter.”

“Say no more; I’m on it!” Brian smiled widely, taking out his pencil and quickly getting to work. After sketching himself a jetpack to make the work easier, he began darting up and down the slope of the mountain, scribbling furiously. Ten minutes later, he had created a simple shanty beside the cavern they exited, with four beds and basic amenities. “It’s not much, but it’ll do for now, right?”

The others gave a relieved sigh as they all walked inside, their soreness and fatigue showing through; Brian quickly followed as they all settled down to sleep. After the rough day they’d had, they certainly earned a long rest.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following morning, when everyone was awake and ironing out the knots in their bodies from yesterday’s events, Scafe noticed Brian was missing from the group.

“Hey guys? Where did Brian go?” he belatedly asked the others.

The trio looked around the small shanty, but found neither hide, hair, nor spider limb of Brian among them. The same thought passed through their minds: _Did he awaken early to find civilization on his own…or was he spirited away in the night by some unknown threat?_ With their worry growing by the second, the group left their lodgings to look around outside, allowing Eli to look behind them and see something new.

“…Hey guys…? Be…behind…us…” Eli’s unusually slow response was quite justified as the others turned around, dumbstruck by the overnight transformation of their shanty. It was now a three-story building seemingly built _into_ the mountainside, looking like it had come straight out of a ritzy magazine for luxury homes. Brian sat atop the roof of the third story, waving down at his comrades. 

“Heh…always finding new ways to push his limits.” Max smirked under his bandages and mask as Scafe lashed a pair of chains around him and Eli. With the others secured, the dragon-man flew them up to Brian, who only smiled widely at his pals.

“Boys, welcome to Crimson Headquarters 2.0…our new home.”

**-THE SOCIETY WILL RETURN-**


	4. The Walls Come Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their new base set up, the Councilmen look for new blood for the Society.

****

# Tales of the Society - The Azure Age

****

## Chapter 1.4: The Walls Come Down

****

_**Last time on** _ **Tales of the Society _…_** __

_The Councilmen were in for a surprise when they travelled through the tunnels below their former HQ; they found a forest straight out of a video game (literally at that)! Compared to the Azure Initiative’s ambush, a horde of Pestnuts was nothing they couldn’t handle, allowing them to make their way to a strange tower at the edge of the woods. On the way up, they discovered that this place was only one of many “world chunks” floating in a void below the surface of the planet they called home - at last, they understood why some called it the **Nexus.**_

_Of course, our heroes had no time for sight-seeing, so they continued onward and resurfaced somewhere entirely new; no longer were they near the coasts, but smack dab in the middle of the northern woodlands, far from civilization. It was right here our Councilmen decided to rebuild the HQ, and though it started humbly for them all, it didn’t take long for Brian and his magic pencil to go all-out and make a home worth living in._

_With their headquarters up and running, our heroes can turn to their previous objective: Track down new members for their group while avoiding the roving eye of the Azure Initiative._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was sometimes easy to forget that Brian, being infected by a Hostile Parasite, was technically a zombie, but the spider-bunny had made good use of the nearly limitless stamina his status afforded him. After a short rest to recover his strength, he had spent most of the night drawing up the new headquarters for his group; after another nap while he waited for the others to wake, he spent a half-hour showing them around the newly upgraded house. It had everything the men could ever want, from well-stocked kitchens and a few gaming rooms to some training gyms and a few luxury amenities like a spa. It even had a subterranean garage, despite the fact that no one had a car yet.

“So boys, what do you think? Is this place up to code?” Brian asked, beaming rather proudly at the hard work he put into this home.

“Up to code? It’s _off the scale!_ ” Eli chuckled alongside his friends after the amazed remark. “Might just find a place to set up a new man-cave in this pad.”

“Still, I noticed quite a few empty rooms in the living space,” Scafe noted with a smirk of his own. “Planning on getting more members soon?”

“Yep…and I even made a way to get to the city without blowing our cover. Call it cliché if you want, but after taking a good minute or two to have a satellite map drawn, I even created a transport room.” Brian had his friends follow him to the room in question, a high-tech chamber that could have been ripped straight out of a science fiction movie. A large touchscreen map sat in the center of the room, with a teleporter behind it.

“It’s actually pretty simple too; Just put your hand here…” As he spoke, Brian placed his hand on the bottom right of the screen, causing all but a few points on the map to darken. “…and it’ll recognize places you remember, like Iridu City, back near our old base.” He pointed to one of the few lit-up locations, blinking red instead of green. “I manually locked that point - given what happened to it, I doubt _any_ of us want to go there - but the rest of the glowing dots are fair game.”

“So we can go to places on the Nexus we’ve been to before…like a Fast Travel System.” Scafe nodded in understanding. “I like it! We can use this to get to a new place and find some members there?”

“It seems so,” Max said. “I recommend going to Eukora Town - we have people we actually _know_ there. They’re as good a place as any to start our Society’s second coming.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Eli said to his allies, glancing up at the powered-on transporter. “Let’s go, guys!”

With that, the Crimson Councilmen entered the transporter, emerging in the center of Eukora Town. Although nowhere near the size of Iridu City, it was still bustling with life and sending a small wave of nostalgia through the group; this was where they had first become friends. Brian immediately took out four copies of the city’s map, handing one to each of the others.

“Alright then, here’s the plan,” he explained. “We’ll split up and canvas the city - keeping in touch with our phones - and when everyone has a new recruit, we’ll meet up back here.”

“Sounds good,” Scafe replied. “And I know just where I’m gonna look!”

Brian gave the dragon a knowing grin before they split up and ran down separate streets. Eli and Max looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

“Ten bucks says they’re going to their girlfriends’ places,” Eli said. “Is that even _fair?_ ”

Max shrugged before responding, “Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess - and if you’re looking for loyalty, no better place to start than with the significant others. Speaking of which…don’t _you_ have a girlfriend to recruit?”

“Eeehhh…” Eli frowned. “I’d rather not get Ann involved in our group, especially with the Azure Initiative to worry about. Don’t worry, though - I’m sure my charming demeanor and stunning style will be more than enough to find some new meat!” With his signature cocky smile, he turned on his heel and dashed down the street, leaving Max to roll his eyes behind his mask.

 _Well, I won’t get anything done standing here,_ he thought. _Better get to searching…_ He paused as a shadow flew overhead; despite its distance, he felt something familiar about its owner.

 _Then again, why search when fate provides so readily?_ Taking a moment to straighten his belt, Max rushed down the street, keeping his eyes on the flying figure.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eli’s search had taken him to the shady side of Eukora Town. Although he knew it was a bit risky, he felt that he might find someone worth inviting to the Society here. As he walked, he kept all his senses on high alert, waiting for the first sign of a commotion - sure enough, he soon heard the unmistakable sounds of a scuffle in a nearby warehouse.

“Get ‘er! Pound ‘er into the dirt!”

“Damn bitch! Hold still and lemme- Gaah!”

“Stop _lettin’_ her hit you and _beat her a-_ Waaaugh!”

The sounds of screams, breaking bones, and other unpleasantries grew louder as Eli snuck up to the nearest window and chanced a glance inside. Although the building was unlit and generally grungy, enough light filtered in from outside for him to see what was going on - a horde of burly, unkempt-looking men were attacking a lone figure clad in an official-looking longcoat and cap. Despite outnumbering their opponent two dozen to one, the thugs seemed to be losing badly - even as Eli wondered what was going on, he had to duck as one unlucky man was tossed into the window he was watching from.

“Aaaargh! I’ve had enough of this! Form up, you idiots - we’ll take her together!”

The remaining six men backed away for a moment, hefting various weapons, before charging simultaneously. A split second before they could come into attacking range, there was a flash of silver-blue light, and all of the attackers were thrown back across the floor, blood spraying from clean cuts on each of their stomachs. Eli narrowed his eyes as he saw the source of the flash - a high-tech katana in the coat-wearing figure’s right hand.

“Hmph…is _that_ all you got? No wonder you scum have to skulk around these parts...” The figure’s voice was rough but feminine as she flicked the blood off her sword, glaring dismissively at her former opponents. She moved to sheath the blade, only to freeze as the sound of clapping reached her ears. “So, you here to give me an even 25?” she asked.

“Not at all!” Eli halted his applause just long enough to kick out the remains of the window in front of him and slide into the warehouse. “Just givin’ a gal some recognition for her _sick-ass_ moves; where’d you even _learn_ that shit?” he asked.

The woman relaxed only slightly as she turned to face Eli. Now that the fight was over, the chinchilla could get a better view of her features - pale grey skin, dark blue and black clothes, and stringy blue hair dangling from under half of her cap. The lower half of her face was hidden behind a black mask, but small piercings and black eyeshadow surrounded the dark blue eyes narrowing suspiciously at the newcomer.

“Come any closer and you’ll get a _first-hand demonstration,_ ” she growled, tightening her grip on the hilt of her katana.

Eli quickly froze mid-step, hands raised defensively. “Whoa, easy there!” he cried. “Nobody’s here to chop up anybody - I just wanna talk! No way in _hell_ am I messin’ with a chick who can kick ass like you…”

“You bet your ass I can kick it.” Now suitably convinced that Eli wasn’t a threat, the woman let go of her sword hilt and crossed her arms. “Alright, whaddya want?” she demanded.

“Well…” Eli paused momentarily before plunging right to the heart of the matter. “I’m on what you might call…a casual talent hunt. I’ve got a bunch of pals who want to meet new people…preferably ones who don’t mind a good scrap with some _baaaad_ peeps, if you know what I mean?”

The woman brushed her bangs out of the way to better scrutinize the chinchilla. “I hope that’s not your best pitch,” she said. “You’ve got a bit too much of a “gangster” air about you for me to consider letting you leave in one piece…”

Eli cringed as the woman’s comment hit a little too close to home. “No, no, you got me all wrong! I’m not from around here, and my pals aren’t the gangster type! We’re just some guys who chill out, play games, and generally have a good time…well, when we’re not being ultra-nuked by some crazy former members…”

“Nuked, huh?” The woman quirked an eyebrow at that. “ _Now_ you’ve got my attention… …Alright, I’ll humor ya.” She uncrossed her arms before extending a hand. “Name’s **Juliet Kingsley,** and I’ll let you introduce me to these “friends” of yours…after that, _no promises._ ” She tapped the hilt of her sword with her other hand, but Eli showed no sign of fear as he took the offered handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Juliet! I’m Eli.” He grimaced as he felt cold metal and a brief crushing grip. “I’ll give you some of the lowdown while we head back…and I’ll need some ice for that shake…”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max’s intuition proved reliable - the flyer he had spotted was an old friend, one **Timothy Pemberton** , known as “ **Tim:E** ” by those who knew him well. After tailing him for a few blocks, the British Mummy managed to get his attention when Tim stopped outside a small delicatessen.

“Tim:E, is that you?” he called.

The familiar voice made Tim turn in Max’s direction. Although he was still the same brown pegasus Max remembered, he had developed a number of anthropomorphic features, including a fully bipedal stance and human-like hands. Though Max hardly recognized the sharply-dressed pegasus as his friend, the immediate resemblance in stature and personality told it was in fact the same old Tim.

“...Maxcutter? Is that you, old friend?” Tim’s confusion quickly turned to pleasant surprise as Max walked up to him. “Well, turn me to clockwork and call me Grandfather - it _is_ you!”

“Indeed it is. I must say, Tim, you’ve developed quite a lot since those old days writing your stories.” Max held out a hand to shake, which Tim immediately took. “So, what brought you to the Nexus?”

“A lot of things, actually,” Tim replied. “Ever since I took the form I am most comfortable with - “ He gestured to himself as he spoke. “ - I’ve been looking for somewhere to settle without being regarded as an anomaly of nature. And as you might imagine, being a semi-anthropomorphic pegasus in a world of quadrupedal ponies is an… _arduous_...experience.” He grimaced at the resurfacing memories. “Fortunately, I stumbled across a tunnel one day, leading to this place: a veritable melting pot of several hundred different species, phylums and orientations of people. As I predicted, my appearance barely warrants a second glance here; now, I can focus on finding a specific place to stay.”

“I see…” Max nodded slowly as he and Tim walked into the deli. “Well, if you’re looking for a place to belong, perhaps you could join our group out here. At the moment, it’s only Brian, Eli, Scafe, and myself, but we’re looking to gather some new members to fill out the home we’ve made for ourselves.” His expression darkened. “As well as exacting some vengeance on the jerks who blew up our old home.”

Tim’s eyebrows rose. “ _Blew up,_ you say? Well…that’s quite a proposition, Max. I _would_ like to see just what kind of crowd you can accrue…and I always have the _time_ to help an old friend.”

Max rolled his eyes at Tim’s pun. _Nice to see_ some _things never change,_ he thought. “Is that a yes, Tim:E?” he said aloud.

“It most certainly is, Max,” Tim replied with a smile. “May I buy you lunch before we embark?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Crimson Councilmen reconvened at the teleporter roughly half an hour after they had split up. As promised, everyone had someone with them; Brian and Scafe had their girlfriends (who required minimal convincing), Max had Tim (and a bag of sandwiches), and Eli brought Juliet.

“Alright, looks like we’ve got some new blood,” Brian began, “so we should start with some introductions. I’m Brian Buena, and I lead the Cri-!!” To everyone else’s shock, he was interrupted when Juliet drew her sword and pointed it at Brian’s face.

“Hold it right there!” she barked. “You’ve got a _lot_ to answer for, Brian! Namely…why the hell didn’t you _tell_ me you were forming a new group?!”

“Uhh…” Brian blinked. “Well, I figured you and your father were still busy with big-ass government stuff when we parted ways, so I never…thought of it?” He shrugged helplessly as Juliet sheathed her sword, walked up to him, and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

“Wait…you know this chick, Sarge?” Eli asked.

“Yeah; she’s a friend from before I became a Councilman…just like Tim as well!” Brian gave a jovial wave to his old friend, who simply waved back.

“ _Nice to see two long-lost friends again,_ ” Zeus smirked from his place on Brian’s palm. “ _Oh, and Juliet and Tim are cool too, if you know what I mean~_ ”

“Oh, for fu- **ZEUUUS!!!** ” Brian struggled not to roll his eyes as he slammed his free fist into his parasite’s “face”. “We’re trying to make a _good_ impression on the new members! Sexual harassment is _not_ how you break the ice - especially on an old friend!”

Becky adopted a look of confusion as Brian ranted at his right palm. “Uhh…is there something I’m missing here?” she asked.

With a groan, Brian turned his palm to face the others, the mouth on his hand spitting out a loose tooth before speaking up. “ _Guh…Greetings, mortals. I am **Prototype Parasite Z3U3,** but just call me **Zeus.** I’m living in Brian’s heart now, granting him the power of a Hostile…among other things._”

Tim cocked his head quizzically. “How intriguing…you’ve been infected by one of your own creations, Brian?”

“ _Long_ story,” Brian said. “We can chat about it when we finish up here.” He gestured to the others, indicating that the introductions should continue; accordingly, Scafe decided to take the initiative.

“Yo. I’m **Scafe,** one of the tentative leaders of the Society alongside Brian, **Max** and **Eli.** ” The dragon pointed at Max and Eli in turn as he spoke. “Together, we’re the **Councilmen** of the **Crimson Society** …which was basically just us until now.” 

Emily bounded forward to take the next turn. “Hi! I’m **Emily Everest**. It’s nice to meetcha - I’ve heard _sooo_ much about you guys from Brian!” She hopped in place, rather excited by all the (figurative) new meat.

“You’re pretty lively for a, uh…” Tim paused as he searched for the appropriate word. “…reanimated…goat-woman?”

“Yeppers!” Emily chirped, either ignoring or unaware of Tim’s unease. “I owe it all to **Athena!** ” She raised her left hand, revealing a fanged mouth similar to Zeus on the back - however, the voice that came from it was distinctly feminine and softer than Brian’s counterpart.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am **Prototype Parasite ATH3N,** better known as Athena.” The hand bent backwards slightly - Athena’s interpretation of a bow. “ Like Zeus, I am bonded to my host, Miss Emily, and we share thoughts and powers.”

“Well, I know who I like better already.” Scafe’s muttered comment earned a low growl from Zeus as the former’s girlfriend stepped forward.

“Hi, everyone. I’m **Becky** \- call me **Bex** if that helps.” The woman brushed a lock of red hair behind her pointed ear, the only feature separating her from a normal human - she seemed almost out of place in a group of anthropomorphs if not for Juliet’s similar stature and appearance.

“I’m Juliet, and I have _one_ golden rule,” the grey-skinned woman began, looking between everyone in turn. “Don’t get in my face, and I won’t turn your internal anatomy into a pincushion. But besides that…nice to meet you all.”

“And I suppose you will know me as Tim.” The pegasus bowed courteously, smiling to his new comrades. “I can see that there’s already a strong group bond between you. Quite impressive…all the more so given what you’ve already endured. That Cobalt Bomb explosion was a self-contained apocalypse all its own.”

“Yeah,” Juliet agreed. “But how the hell did that thing get out in the first place? Last I heard through my contacts, the only blueprints were owned by some weirdo living on the outskirts of the Nexus; a lady with…butterfly wings…if the intel’s correct.”

Max rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting…but I’d suggest returning to the HQ for now. We should introduce the newcomers to our shared home before we discuss other matters,” he explained.

Brian nodded in agreement and led the others back through the portal, one by one. Back in the base’s teleporter room, everyone took in the sights, quite impressed by Brian’s hard work. The group spent the next hour exploring the new base they now called home, and eventually everyone settled in to hear about the Society from the leader himself.

“We, the Crimson Society, take joy in the common pastime of games, electronic or otherwise. We are also dedicated to help out the Nexus wherever possible; both making the world better than it already is, and protecting it from anything that would threaten it.” Brian puffed out his chest as he spoke, rather proud of his well-rehearsed speech.

“So, basically, we hang out, have fun, and kick the occasional ass or two?” Emily asked. “I like this place already!”

Had Brian not known Emily’s penchant for deflating epic speeches, he would probably have facefaulted - as it was, he only gave an imperceptible sigh. “Yeah…that’s basically it,” he said. “So, at the moment…do our new members have any questions before we move into current issues?”

Tim politely raised a hand. “As a matter of fact, I was wondering…” He pointed to the sigil engraved on the wall behind Brian, a large “C” resembling a stylized gear in front of five objects arranged in a star pattern: a pencil, a staff, and three swords. “That emblem…”

“Oh, that’s just our old logo,” Eli replied quickly. “Don’t worry about it - we’ve actually been thinking of changing it for a while now.”

“Oh, certainly…but still…” The well-dressed pony-man frowned slightly. “I can’t help but notice a subtle numerical motif to the emblem,” he said. “It appears as though there were _five_ founding members of the Society - whatever happened to the fifth Councilman?” 

Max silently cursed his friend’s intuitive observance, but Scafe spoke up before he could. “We don’t talk about it,” he said bluntly.

“Let me guess; died in the old base?” Juliet asked with a frown. “Gotta say, going by intel, that’s a _nasty_ way to go.”

Eli shook his head. “Nah. It’d take a hell of a lot more than a bomb to end a jackass like Ts-”

Scafe interrupted his friend with a snarl. “I _SAID_ that we **don’t** talk about it!” he insisted. The newcomers stared at the visibly-agitated dragon, save Becky, who immediately squeezed his hand to try and calm him down.

“Ahh…don’t let Scafe put you off.” Despite his casual demeanor, it was clear that Brian was just as uneasy as the rest of the group. “The fifth Councilman’s…departure…is a bit of a touchy subject,” he continued in a hushed tone.

This comment was met with confused looks from the newcomers. The Councilmen looked between each other for a long moment before Scafe gave Brian a slight nod; consent for him to elaborate. Even then, the spider-rabbit hybrid looked visibly reluctant, forcing Zeus to drop the revelation.

“ _Listen everyone, Tsuneo_ didn’t _die in the explosion. …Well, technically, he’s been dead LOOONG before we even_ knew _him, but that’s not the point. We don’t talk about him because…well, he didn’t leave the group on the best of terms._ ”

Brian wearily nodded before continuing. “It wasn’t pretty. The other Councilmen put him through some hell, and he bit right back - he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t take others’ shit, no matter the consequences to himself. It got so bad that they all wanted to discharge him; I was against it, but I couldn’t fight the majority vote…and it ultimately didn’t really matter in the end. Tsuneo quit before we could give him a verdict. None of us know where he went, but the fact that he wasn’t with the Azure Initiative is a good sign…”

Seeing Scafe and Eli’s expressions darkening, Max decided to use Brian’s comment as a means of changing the subject. “Speaking of the Initiative…perhaps now would be a good time to bring the new inductees up to speed on our current situation.”

“Right,” Brian agreed, tapping a panel on the wall behind him. With a low whirr, the emblem parted to reveal a projector, which displayed images of the future Azure Initiative members and their listed reasons for expulsion from the Society. “The Society accepted several other applicants before you all,” he said, “but all of them were expelled for various reasons. Some refused to compromise their own ideals for the good of the group.” He pointed at images of Marcell and Sylvie as he spoke.

“Some made a living harassing the other members,” Max continued, indicating the images of Amethyst, Saturn, and 1:30. “And others were generally just underhanded.” He finished the sentence by drawing their attention to Purgatory, Quantum, and N.E.D. “Ultimately, none of them were here for the right reasons, so we had to let them go…sadly, they didn’t take it well.”

“I sense that you didn’t have the _time_ to conceive proper screening procedures for application,” Tim’s quip prompted Max and Brian to facepalm.

“Yep.” Eli snorted wryly. “Hindsight and all…but none of these guys’ infractions could compare to our worst mistake - letting in the douchebag who’s currently the leader of the Azure Initiative.” He groaned in unison with the other Councilmen as the holograms merged and shifted into a full-size image of Weiss. “ _This_ Grade-A sonofabitch, also known as Weiss Locke.”

“…Why does he have a maple leaf scar?” Emily giggled at that detail, eliciting a smile from Brian.

“That actually happened when we slammed the door on him,” Scafe noted, shaking his head. “But yeah, that’s about what we’re facing now. These guys have proven they’re serious about getting some payback for our ‘crime’ of banning them from the Society, and if it comes down to it…”

Brian nodded to the others before taking a deep breath. “We’ll have to eliminate them for the good of the Nexus.” He let that thought sink in before looking at the new members of the Society. “I’m not gonna lie - this is gonna be a long, dangerous fight. We’ll have to take chances, make mistakes, and maybe even get our hands dirty - if anyone here has any qualms about that, you better speak up now.”

The room was silent as the Sergeant looked at the faces of his friends, old and new, and saw not a hint of fear - only determination and support for his cause. The sight warmed his heart even as he put an air of authority into his next words.

“...Then if there are no objections…the first meeting of the new Crimson Society is adjourned! You are all _dismissed!_ ” He nodded to the others, leading them out of the Mission Control room before everyone went their own ways. Eli led the newcomers to their lodgings in the mansion while Max left for his own room, leaving only Brian and Scafe standing in the hall.

“Nice speech, Sarge! I’m certainly inspired…” Scafe’s levity quickly vanished, showing the concern beneath. “…For all our sakes, I hope this works out…” The muttered comment prompted Brian to place a reassuring hand on the dragon’s shoulder.

“It’ll be alright, Scafe - we’re not gonna let Weiss and his band of misfits hit us like they did last time.” The spider-bunny hybrid paused before letting a bit of his own doubts show. “At least...I hope not… I don’t wanna lose any more friends…”

With nothing more to say on the matter, Brian walked off, leaving Scafe alone with his thoughts. _We might have some new blood, but we’re still outnumbered,_ he thought. _And I don’t know if the newbies realize exactly how dangerous the Initiative is - hell, I’m not sure if_ we _know that. After all…if they got their hands on some fucking **Cobalt Bomb plans**...what else can they be cooking up in the shadows?_

**-THE SOCIETY WILL RETURN-**

**Author's Note:**

> Two things:  
> 1) The Cobalt Bomb was not a creation of the resident pyromaniac, Irene. It was a 'real' thing, plans of it were made in 1950, but thankfully never came to fruition. So, the fact that the resident psycho managed to make a working prototype should scare most (she never planned to use it; just prove it was possible.). Also, my dumb ass probably landed on a list somewhere. Again.  
> 2) Chucklehuck Woods was created by Alphadream for the _Mario and Luigi_ series. It is neither Brian nor my original work.
> 
> If you want to yell at me, I am LadyIrene #2020 on DIscord and Insanity_Lady on Twitter.


End file.
